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Regular self-assessment is a powerful tool to determine your personal assets and liabilities so that you can accurately design a training program that works. This is the fifth in a series of self-assessments adapted from my book, Conditioning for Climbers.
Check back each month for a new self-assessment–you can compare your scores to previous month’s assessment, thus enabling you to identify the two or three areas most holding you back (these would be the lower scoring assessments). Similarly, survey your answers question-by-question to identify specific liabilities that you need to address.
Evaluate Your Nutritional Habits
1. How often do you eat breakfast?
1—seldom or never, 3—about half the time, 5—every day
2. How often do you eat fast food or fried foods?
1—four or more days per week, 2—two to three days per week, 3—once a week, 4—once or twice per month, 5—less than once per month
3. On average, how soon after a workout or the end of your climbing day do you consume some carbohydrate and protein?
1—more than three hours, 2—two to three hours, 3—one to two hours, 4—thirty minutes to one hour, 5—within thirty minutes
4. How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you consume per day?
1—zero or one, 2—two, 3—three, 4—four, 5—five or more
5. How often do you plan out your meals ahead of time for the purpose of eating for performance and optimal recovery?
1—seldom or never, 2—once per week, 3—two or three days per week, 4—four to six days per week, 5—every day
Analysis
Add up your scores for each question and record your total score here: _____. Use the scale below to assess the quality of your nutritional habits.
23 – 25: You possess excellent nutritional habits!
20 – 22: Your nutritional habits are above average.
15 – 19: Your nutrition is near average, but improving your habits will boost your energy, stamina, and recovery times.
10 – 14: Your diet is below average. Strive to eliminate this constraint on your climbing performance and recovery ability by improving dietary surveillance throughout the week.
5 – 9: Your poor nutritional habits are both a health risk and a constraint on climbing performance. Make it a priority to make permanent changes in this area—it will improve your quality of life as well as your climbing.
Set Goals
Review questions on which you scored 3 or less, then set a specific goal for improvement in each area. Write down what actions you plan to take along with a time frame for attaining this goal. For example, if you scored 3 or fewer points on question 3, make it a high priority to consume some protein and carbohydrate within the first hour after training or climbing.
Take Our Previous Self-Assessments!
Copyright 2010 Eric J. Hörst. All rights reserved.